Filed to story: The Vampire Prince’s Bride
“Maybe I’m only helping you to try to make up for every awful thing I’ve done this past year,” I said, since that was easier than telling her why I was really helping her-because something about her made me unable to resist doing anything else.
“A true monster wouldn’t care about repenting,” she said confidently. “So… thank you, Sean. This means a lot.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I said. “We’re not even out of the Vale.”
She glanced around the surrounding forest, worry crossing her face. “Are you sure the wolves won’t attack us?” she asked.
“The wolves only attack humans,” I told her. “With my blood in your system, they’ll think we’re two vampires. They’ll have no reason to bother us.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, shaking away her worries. “I trust you.”
“You shouldn’t.” I regretted the words the moment they were out of my mouth. Hadn’t I been the one asking her to trust me back in the alley? Saying it had been instinctual, since once my blood was out of her system I would want to drink from her again. But I needed her to trust me now. I was her only hope. “I mean, you can trust me now. But in general, you should never trust a vampire. Always remember that.”
“If you were going to hurt me, you would have already,” she said. “I know you think you’re a monster, but you’re not.”
“Tell that to me after we reach the Sanctuary,” I told her, since as much as I wanted to believe I wouldn’t give into my bloodlust, who knew what would happen between now and then? I wouldn’t feed on Scarlett, but I would need to feed eventually. Would she be so sure I wasn’t a monster after witnessing such a thing?
“I will,” she promised. “Now, which way out of the Vale?”
“Follow me.”
I took off in a run, and she followed at my side.
Scarlett
T he boundary was clear-like a dome over the Vale-but it had a slight glimmer visible to those who knew it was there. I’d seen it as a human, but with vampire vision it was even more apparent. My instincts told me to slow as I approached it, but Sean made no sign of slowing his pace, so I kept running. As I passed through the boundary, electricity passed over my skin-magical energy-and then it was gone.
I glanced behind, and sadness passed through my body. As much as I wanted to leave, there were people I didn’t want to leave behind. Tanya, Norbert the bookshop manager, and all the others at the Tavern-these people had been the reasons why I’d survived my year in the Vale without giving up.
Now I was abandoning them.
But I wouldn’t leave them forever. No-once Sean and I found this Sanctuary, I would free the blood slaves of the Vale and bring them there. I wasn’t sure how, but I would find a way. I owed it to them. I had to find a way.
Suddenly, Sean thrust his arm in front of me, bringing me to a stop.
I looked to find out what made him pause, and that was when I saw them.
Wolves-an entire pack of them-surrounding us. Their teeth were drawn back, and they glared at us, looking ready to pounce.
“I thought you said the wolves wouldn’t bother us?” I said to Sean under my breath.
“I’ll take care of this.” He sounded sure of it, and he turned to face the wolf that was front and center-a big red one who appeared to be the leader of the pack.
The wolf’s coloring reminded me of another wolf-one from nearly a year ago. But there were so many wolves in these woods. What were the chances I would run into the same one again?
“I am Prince Sean of the Vale.” He stood tall and proud, his tone conveying all the confidence of royalty. “My companion and I have done nothing to warrant this ambush. Let us pass.”
The wolf snarled again, and then she shifted into human form. She was beautiful-tall, with bright red hair that flowed down to her waist. She wore a tight fitting, black body suit-it appeared that the suit shifted with her. I assumed it was created with magic. A necklace dangled from her neck, with a charm that resembled some sort of plant.
All of the other wolves remained in their animal form.
“That girl is no vampire,” the redhead said calmly. “She’s a human.”
“Did you not see her running with me?” Sean smirked, looking every bit an arrogant prince. “No human could run at that speed.”
“She has ingested vampire blood. Most likely your blood,” she said, and then she turned to me. “Did you not recognize me in my wolf form? I would think that night all those months ago would be one you would never forget…”
“You were the wolf who attacked me.” I stood straighter, readying for trouble. “When I tried to escape the Vale.”
“My name is Valerie, and I am the leader of this pack.” She stuck her nose haughtily in the air. “When I attacked you all those months ago, I was perfectly within my rights. You were a human blood slave who’d crossed the boundary of the Vale. And I know enough about the ways of the vampires of the Vale to know that no blood slave of theirs has ever been approved to become a vampire. Queen Laila would never allow it.”
“There are exceptions to every rule,” Sean said steadily. He still sounded confident, but he took a step closer to me, ready to protect me.
My stomach surged into my throat-hopefully it wouldn’t come to a fight. I had no doubts that Sean was a fantastic fighter, but two of us against this entire pack? The odds were not in our favor. Especially since my best skill was running-not fighting. And I knew better than to think that a bit a vampire blood would suddenly transform me into a trained warrior.
“True.” Valerie held his gaze. “But a wolf’s sense of smell is over ten times better than a vampire’s. Vampires may not be able to smell the difference between a vampire and a human who has ingested vampire blood, but we can. Now-tell me. Why has a vampire prince given a human a taste of his blood and brought her out of the Vale?”
“The reason is irrelevant.” Sean glared at her and flashed his fangs. “We have an alliance. So unless you intend to go against a prince of the Vale-and therefore go against the entire kingdom-you will let us pass. Now.”
“The alliance is less and less relevant to us as of late,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Centuries ago, vampires stole a piece of our land-the area you now call the Vale. The treaty stated that to avoid a war between the species, we would keep the Vale safe from intruders as long as the vampires let us live in peace and didn’t expand further into our territory. At the time, we were outnumbered and had no choice but to agree. If we hadn’t agreed, we would have been slaughtered. However, we’re growing in numbers faster than you can imagine. And you’ve transformed the land you stole from us into a kingdom far more bountiful than we could have ever imagined.”
“Queen Laila created the kingdom of the Vale from the ground up,” Sean said. “It never would have become what it is now if it had been left in your hands.”
“Maybe not.” Valerie shrugged. “But while the vampires of the Vale may have forgotten who that land originally belonged to, I assure you, we have not.”
“What are you saying?” Sean bristled. “You’re going to fight for it back?”
“You’re free to make any assumptions you want.” She smiled sweetly. “Not that it matters… since once we’re finished with you, there will be nothing left for anyone to find.”
Sean
I held an arm out in front of Scarlett, protecting her. If only I’d known that wolves could smell when a human had ingested vampire blood… I tried to think of what else I could have done, but came up blank. An older vampire would have known. But I had truly thought this plan would work. I thought I was saving Scarlett.
Turned out I was only bringing her from being hunted by vampires to being hunted by wolves.